Early Saturday morning, March 4, the 45th president of the United States alleged in a series of tweets that former president Barack Obama orchestrated a “Nixon/Watergate” plot to tap Trump’s phones at his Trump Tower headquarters last fall in the run-up to the election. Trump concluded that the former president is a “Bad (or sick) guy!”

Trump cited no evidence for his accusation.

Folks, we’ve got a huge problem on our hands. Either:

1. Trump is more nuts than we suspected – a true delusional paranoid who shouldn’t be anywhere near the nuclear codes that could obliterate the planet, or near anything else that could determine the fate of America or the world.

2. Or Trump’s outburst was triggered by commentary in the “alt-right” publication, Breitbart News, on Friday, which reported an assertion made Thursday night by right-wing talk-radio host Mark Levin suggesting Obama and his administration used “police state” tactics last fall to monitor the Trump team’s dealings with Russian operatives.

But if this was the case, we’ve got a president willing to put the prestige and power of his office behind baseless claims emanating from well-known right-wing purveyors of lies. That means Trump still shouldn’t be anywhere near the nuclear codes that could obliterate the planet or anywhere else he could do damage.

3. The third possibility is that Trump is correct, and the Obama administration did in fact tap his phones. But if this was the case, before the tap could occur it’s highly likely Trump committed a very serious crime, including treason.

No president can order a wiretap on his own. For federal agents to obtain a wiretap on Trump, or anyone else, the Justice Department would first have had to convince a federal judge that it had gathered sufficient evidence of probable cause to believe Trump had committed a serious crime or was an agent of a foreign power, depending on whether it was a criminal or foreign intelligence wiretap. In which case we have someone in the White House who shouldn’t be making decisions that could endanger America or the world.

What other explanation could there be for Trump’s Saturday rant? He’s been known to use tweets to divert attention from news stories he doesn’t want the public and the media to focus on. So was Trump seeking to divert public attention from the Jeff Sessions imbroglio and the increasing number of Trump associates found to have been in contact with Russian agents before and after the election?

That seems unlikely because Trump’s trumped-up charge of wiretapping isn’t really a distraction at all. Even if you accept Trump’s version of events, why would the Obama administration have been collecting information on Trump if not because of Trump’s purported Russian connections? Trump’s accusation thereby focuses even more attention on the possibility he conspired with the Russians to win the election.

Or is Trump trying to build a case that the entire Russian story is a plot concocted by the Obama Administration, along with the CIA, FBI, and National Security Agency, and the mainstream press, to bring Trump down?

In this case, he’s either paranoid (back to problem #1), or he really is trying to hide a nefarious collaboration that in fact occurred (back to problem #3).

So there you have it. Whatever the reason for Trump’s rant, America is in deep trouble. We have a president who is either a dangerous paranoid, or is making judgments based on right-wing crackpots, or has in all likelihood committed treason.

Each of these possible reasons is as terrifying as the other.

_________________________"Everything that has ever happened to us is there to make us stronger."-John Trudell

ThomasDecker
Senior Member
Registered: 08/17/16
Posts: 2370
Loc: Land of the Free and home of t...

Obama Advisor Rhodes Is Wrong: The President Can Order A Wiretap, And Why Trump May Have The Last Laugh

by Tyler DurdenMar 4, 2017 6:25 PM

Following Trump's stunning allegation that Obama wiretapped the Trump Tower in October of 2016, prior to the presidential election, which may or may not have been sourced from a Breitbart story, numerous Democrats and media pundits have come out with scathing accusations that Trump is either mentally disturbed, or simply has no idea what he is talking about.

The best example of this came from Ben Rhodes, a former senior adviser to President Obama in his role as deputy National Security Advisor, who slammed Trump's accusation, insisting that "No President can order a wiretap. Those restrictions were put in place to protect citizens from people like you." He also said "only a liar" could make the case, as Trump suggested, that Obama wire tapped Trump Tower ahead of the election.

"In Chapter 36 of Title 50 of the US Code *War and National Defense", Subchapter 1, Section 1802, we read the following:

(1) Notwithstanding any other law, the President, through the Attorney General, may authorize electronic surveillance without a court order under this subchapter to acquire foreign intelligence information for periods of up to one year if the Attorney General certifies in writing under oath that—

(A) the electronic surveillance is solely directed at— (i) the acquisition of the contents of communications transmitted by means of communications used exclusively between or among foreign powers, as defined in section 1801(a)(1), (2), or (3) of this title; or (ii) the acquisition of technical intelligence, other than the spoken communications of individuals, from property or premises under the open and exclusive control of a foreign power, as defined in section 1801(a)(1), (2), or (3) of this title;

(B) there is no substantial likelihood that the surveillance will acquire the contents of any communication to which a United States person is a party; and

(C) the proposed minimization procedures with respect to such surveillance meet the definition of minimization procedures under section 1801(h) of this title; and if the Attorney General reports such minimization procedures and any changes thereto to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at least thirty days prior to their effective date, unless the Attorney General determines immediate action is required and notifies the committees immediately of such minimization procedures and the reason for their becoming effective immediately."

Its time for Mr. Obama to pay for his crimes against the American people!

Early Saturday morning, March 4, the 45th president of the United States alleged in a series of tweets that former president Barack Obama orchestrated a “Nixon/Watergate” plot to tap Trump’s phones at his Trump Tower headquarters last fall in the run-up to the election. Trump concluded that the former president is a “Bad (or sick) guy!”

Trump cited no evidence for his accusation.

Folks, we’ve got a huge problem on our hands. Either:

1. Trump is more nuts than we suspected – a true delusional paranoid who shouldn’t be anywhere near the nuclear codes that could obliterate the planet, or near anything else that could determine the fate of America or the world.

2. Or Trump’s outburst was triggered by commentary in the “alt-right” publication, Breitbart News, on Friday, which reported an assertion made Thursday night by right-wing talk-radio host Mark Levin suggesting Obama and his administration used “police state” tactics last fall to monitor the Trump team’s dealings with Russian operatives.

But if this was the case, we’ve got a president willing to put the prestige and power of his office behind baseless claims emanating from well-known right-wing purveyors of lies. That means Trump still shouldn’t be anywhere near the nuclear codes that could obliterate the planet or anywhere else he could do damage.

3. The third possibility is that Trump is correct, and the Obama administration did in fact tap his phones. But if this was the case, before the tap could occur it’s highly likely Trump committed a very serious crime, including treason.

No president can order a wiretap on his own. For federal agents to obtain a wiretap on Trump, or anyone else, the Justice Department would first have had to convince a federal judge that it had gathered sufficient evidence of probable cause to believe Trump had committed a serious crime or was an agent of a foreign power, depending on whether it was a criminal or foreign intelligence wiretap. In which case we have someone in the White House who shouldn’t be making decisions that could endanger America or the world.

What other explanation could there be for Trump’s Saturday rant? He’s been known to use tweets to divert attention from news stories he doesn’t want the public and the media to focus on. So was Trump seeking to divert public attention from the Jeff Sessions imbroglio and the increasing number of Trump associates found to have been in contact with Russian agents before and after the election?

That seems unlikely because Trump’s trumped-up charge of wiretapping isn’t really a distraction at all. Even if you accept Trump’s version of events, why would the Obama administration have been collecting information on Trump if not because of Trump’s purported Russian connections? Trump’s accusation thereby focuses even more attention on the possibility he conspired with the Russians to win the election.

Or is Trump trying to build a case that the entire Russian story is a plot concocted by the Obama Administration, along with the CIA, FBI, and National Security Agency, and the mainstream press, to bring Trump down?

In this case, he’s either paranoid (back to problem #1), or he really is trying to hide a nefarious collaboration that in fact occurred (back to problem #3).

So there you have it. Whatever the reason for Trump’s rant, America is in deep trouble. We have a president who is either a dangerous paranoid, or is making judgments based on right-wing crackpots, or has in all likelihood committed treason.

Each of these possible reasons is as terrifying as the other.

So to put in layman's terms, anyway you look at it, Trump is showing the world the behavior most smart Liberals knew about 30 years ago, when we noticed this snotty nosed rich brat falsely thinking that the world revolves around him, well it appears that millions of naive or at least vile enough to elect him for the sake of ruining the country and who were willing to put their hatred and racism to the forefront. Bottom line, his supporters knew his propensity for drama but never suspecting that it would get this bad but realistically so, it's not a pleasant proposition when most of the world and two thirds of the US can say "I told you so" What's a supporter to do besides get on board with Trump and continue to lie and use underground unsubstantiated reports to support their lies?

Early Saturday morning, March 4, the 45th president of the United States alleged in a series of tweets that former president Barack Obama orchestrated a “Nixon/Watergate” plot to tap Trump’s phones at his Trump Tower headquarters last fall in the run-up to the election. Trump concluded that the former president is a “Bad (or sick) guy!”

Trump cited no evidence for his accusation.

Folks, we’ve got a huge problem on our hands. Either:

1. Trump is more nuts than we suspected – a true delusional paranoid who shouldn’t be anywhere near the nuclear codes that could obliterate the planet, or near anything else that could determine the fate of America or the world.

2. Or Trump’s outburst was triggered by commentary in the “alt-right” publication, Breitbart News, on Friday, which reported an assertion made Thursday night by right-wing talk-radio host Mark Levin suggesting Obama and his administration used “police state” tactics last fall to monitor the Trump team’s dealings with Russian operatives.

But if this was the case, we’ve got a president willing to put the prestige and power of his office behind baseless claims emanating from well-known right-wing purveyors of lies. That means Trump still shouldn’t be anywhere near the nuclear codes that could obliterate the planet or anywhere else he could do damage.

3. The third possibility is that Trump is correct, and the Obama administration did in fact tap his phones. But if this was the case, before the tap could occur it’s highly likely Trump committed a very serious crime, including treason.

No president can order a wiretap on his own. For federal agents to obtain a wiretap on Trump, or anyone else, the Justice Department would first have had to convince a federal judge that it had gathered sufficient evidence of probable cause to believe Trump had committed a serious crime or was an agent of a foreign power, depending on whether it was a criminal or foreign intelligence wiretap. In which case we have someone in the White House who shouldn’t be making decisions that could endanger America or the world.

What other explanation could there be for Trump’s Saturday rant? He’s been known to use tweets to divert attention from news stories he doesn’t want the public and the media to focus on. So was Trump seeking to divert public attention from the Jeff Sessions imbroglio and the increasing number of Trump associates found to have been in contact with Russian agents before and after the election?

That seems unlikely because Trump’s trumped-up charge of wiretapping isn’t really a distraction at all. Even if you accept Trump’s version of events, why would the Obama administration have been collecting information on Trump if not because of Trump’s purported Russian connections? Trump’s accusation thereby focuses even more attention on the possibility he conspired with the Russians to win the election.

Or is Trump trying to build a case that the entire Russian story is a plot concocted by the Obama Administration, along with the CIA, FBI, and National Security Agency, and the mainstream press, to bring Trump down?

In this case, he’s either paranoid (back to problem #1), or he really is trying to hide a nefarious collaboration that in fact occurred (back to problem #3).

So there you have it. Whatever the reason for Trump’s rant, America is in deep trouble. We have a president who is either a dangerous paranoid, or is making judgments based on right-wing crackpots, or has in all likelihood committed treason.

Each of these possible reasons is as terrifying as the other.

So to put in layman's terms, anyway you look at it, Trump is showing the world the behavior most smart Liberals knew about 30 years ago, when we noticed this snotty nosed rich brat falsely thinking that the world revolves around him, well it appears that millions of naive or at least vile enough to elect him for the sake of ruining the country and who were willing to put their hatred and racism to the forefront. Bottom line, his supporters knew his propensity for drama but never suspecting that it would get this bad but realistically so, it's not a pleasant proposition when most of the world and two thirds of the US can say "I told you so" What's a supporter to do besides get on board with Trump and continue to lie and use underground unsubstantiated reports to support their lies?

Yep. Trump's zombies willingly stagger into those flames until the bitter end.

_________________________"Everything that has ever happened to us is there to make us stronger."-John Trudell

ThomasDecker
Senior Member
Registered: 08/17/16
Posts: 2370
Loc: Land of the Free and home of t...

Former DNI James Clapper: ‘I Can Deny’ Wiretap of Trump Tower

by Kailani Koenig

WASHINGTON — Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Sunday denied any suggestion that Trump Tower communications were wiretapped before the election.

For the part of the national security apparatus that he oversaw, "there was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president, the president-elect at the time, or as a candidate, or against his campaign," Clapper told Chuck Todd in an exclusive interview on Sunday's "Meet The Press."

Its time for Mr. Obama to pay for his crimes against the American people!

Note to Mr. Decker:Please be advised out that in order for your attempts at political diversion to succeed, the chosen distraction must contain at least a morsel of evidence, if one hopes to take attention away from the rapidly mounting evidence that, in fact, DOES exist (regardless of how many Trumplodytes eagerly slurp up your gruel).

_________________________
Everyone's entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts.

FBI Director James Comey asked Justice Department officials to publicly reject President Donald Trump's claims that former President Barack Obama ordered the wiretapping of Trump Tower, The New York Times reported Sunday. A senior U.S. official confirmed the newspaper's reporting to NBC News.

The Times reported that Comey requested that the Department of Justice publicly rebut the president's allegations — which he posted on Twitter without evidence — because the claims are untrue and suggest the FBI broke the law. Comey's appeal pits him against the president.

If this had all ended with some crazy tweets, we could chalk this story up to just another Trump lie or an effort to distract us from the growing scandal with his administration's ties to Russia. But now that Trump, through Spicer, is demanding a taxpayer-funded congressional investigation into a claim made against his opposition without one single shred of evidence, we are in new and alarming territory.

Add just as alarming, on Sunday, Trump's spokesperson made it clear that like a dictator, Trump and his administration refuse to answer any questions from the media seeking such evidence: "Neither the White House nor the President will comment further until such oversight is conducted."

It's time for the Republican leaders in Congress to let us know if they will simply be a doormat for Trump's diabolical agenda -- or will they be patriotic Americans who stand up to this dictator in the making? My hope is that they choose the latter and remain focused on Russia's interference in our elections and possible collusion between the Trump administration and Russian officials.

What's it going to be, Republicans: Trump or America? We await your response.

Republican leaders of Congress appeared willing to honor the president's request, but the move has potential risks for the president, particularly if the House and Senate intelligence committees unearth damaging information about Trump, his aides or his associates.

That's not even a complete list. Trump's dishonesty is so awe-inspiringly pervasive that it would be nearly impossible to catalogue those lies in comprehensive fashion. But be assured: if Trump's talking, there's a solid shot he's not telling the truth.

Be prepared for a new nightmare named Mike Pence. Mr. Christian theocracy waits in the wings.

Until then...

White House Attorneys Scramble to Come Up with Evidence to Back Trump’s ‘Wiretap’ ClaimsIs the president reading conspiracy websites, or is he under FISA court surveillance?

By David Ferguson / Raw Story

March 5, 2017

Pres. Donald Trump’s top legal advisers are scrambling to come up with evidence to back his claim on Twitter Saturday morning that the phones at Trump Tower were tapped in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election.

The New York Times reported Saturday evening that while Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida — his fourth weekend away from Washington since he was inaugurated Jan. 20 — a source reported that senior White House Donald F. McGahn II is spending the weekend trying to secure access to a court order that may or may not exist.

There are two possibilities regarding Trump’s angry tweets from Saturday morning in which he accused former Pres. Barack Obama of wiretapping the phones in Trump Tower: One is that Pres. Trump is getting his news from right-wing radio and fringe conspiracy websites like Breitbart.com and InfoWars, both of which ran with a story on Friday alleging that Obama eavesdropped on Trump.

The other possibility, as suggested by Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu (CA), is that the president was under surveillance through an order from a FISA court. This would mean that a federal judge felt there was probable cause to believe that Trump had committed a serious crime or was an agent of a foreign power.

However, even if such an order does exist, the Times explained that it would be a major breach of the Justice Department’s independence for the White House to compel it to turn over documents relating to an active investigation of itself.

“Any request for information from a top White House official about a continuing investigation would be a stunning departure from protocols intended to insulate the F.B.I. from political pressure. It would be even more surprising for the White House to seek information about a case directly involving the president or his advisers, as does the case involving the Russia contacts,” wrote Michael D. Shear and Michael S. Schmidt.

For McGahn to be searching for evidence that would identify his boss as the subject of a federal probe involving wiretap investigations is, to say the least, highly unusual in Washington.

Veteran journalist Dan Rather said on Saturday that Trump has already weakened our nation’s standing at home and abroad through his wild conspiracy mongering and erosion of the public trust.

Brian Fallon of NBC News noted on Twitter that for the White House to be looking for such evidence amounts to interference in the investigation and only strengthens the case for appointing a special prosecutor.

It's funny to see a desperate Trump supporter grasping for straws, why don't the fool go back even to 1996 when Bill Clinton was in office and mention a few shall we say indiscretions. The fact remain, Trump is in a whole lot of trouble unrelated to past situations.

ThomasDecker
Senior Member
Registered: 08/17/16
Posts: 2370
Loc: Land of the Free and home of t...

Originally Posted By: Formermac

It's funny to see a desperate Trump supporter grasping for straws, why don't the fool go back even to 1996 when Bill Clinton was in office and mention a few shall we say indiscretions. The fact remain, Trump is in a whole lot of trouble unrelated to past situations.